About the role

The lab is where every engineering claim gets checked against reality. If the data's untrustworthy, every downstream decision, design, program timeline, and customer commitment inherits that risk without anyone noticing until it's expensive.

This role owns that. You're responsible for the test infrastructure, the standards it runs on, and the judgment call on what's good enough to trust. You'll work across Mechanical, Power Electronics, Controls, Embedded Software, Manufacturing, and Program Management, and you'll have real authority to say a system isn't ready, a result isn't credible, or a process needs to change, and make that stick.

We want someone who biases toward structure: documented, repeatable, built to outlast any one person's memory of how it works. Not because process is the point, but because at 40-50 people and growing, tribal knowledge is a liability. At the same time, this isn't a role where you build the org chart and step back. You're in the lab. You're commissioning systems, debugging with the team at 6pm, mentoring technicians on measurement methods. Player-coach, not dictator. You set the standard by being good enough at the work that people want to follow suit, not standards by decree.
Areas of ownership
Test infrastructure and standards

• Own the dynamometers, inverter test systems, environmental support systems, and lab infrastructure end to end
• Set the standards for what counts as commissioned, calibrated, and trustworthy, and hold the org to them
• Plan and execute capability upgrades with minimal disruption to active programs

Test system development

• Translate engineering objectives into safe, repeatable test capability
• Integrate mechanical, electrical, controls, instrumentation, cooling, automation, and safety systems
• Own the safety philosophy: interlocks, e-stop logic, fault handling, operator protection
• Commission and validate systems before engineering release. Nothing goes live on your say alone until it's earned it

Measurement and data integrity

• Specify sensors, instrumentation, DAQ architecture
• Build measurement strategies that answer the actual engineering question, not just collect numbers
• Validate accuracy through calibration, uncertainty analysis, correlation, repeatability
• Be the person who can say, credibly, "trust this data" or "don't";

Lab operations and standards enforcement

• Run preventive maintenance, calibration, troubleshooting, repair
• Own lab organization, documentation, safety, and operating procedure as an operating system, not a set of one-off fixes
• Eliminate recurring issues through durable corrective action, not repeated patching
• Support procurement and lab upkeep where it affects test capability

Cross-functional authority

• Partner with Mechanical, Power Electronics, Embedded Software, Controls, Manufacturing, Program Management, suppliers, and customers
• Push back on requirements, timelines, or designs when the lab side can't safely or credibly support them
• Translate cross-functional input into test capability that actually answers the question being asked

Technical leadership

• Mentor engineers and technicians in measurement method, safe operation, and lab standards
• Build capability that scales. The goal is a lab that runs at this standard whether or not you're in the room that day
• Operationalize Tau's engineering principles into how the lab actually runs day to day, not just how it's described

Technical foundation

You'll likely have depth in some of these and working knowledge across most:

• Electrical, mechatronic, mechanical, or controls system design
• Instrumentation, sensors, signal conditioning, DAQ architecture
• Controls integration and lab automation
• High-voltage safety, interlocks, e-stops, fault handling
• Calibration, uncertainty analysis, correlation, repeatability
• Commissioning and troubleshooting complex systems
• Root-cause analysis and structured problem solving
• Python, LabVIEW, PLCs, or comparable automation tools

Experience

A bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Controls Engineering, or a closely related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience. Several years developing, commissioning, or improving complex test systems.

Relevant backgrounds: electric powertrains, dynamometers, aerospace test, automotive test, industrial automation, robotics, energy systems. Anywhere measurement quality and equipment reliability were treated as non-negotiable.
What success looks like in year one

• The lab runs on standards you set, and people follow them because they trust your judgment, not because they were told to
• Engineers make faster, better decisions because the data underneath them is credible
• You've caught and fixed at least one recurring failure mode at the root, not just patched the symptom
• Leadership relies on you to own the lab side of operations without needing to check in
• You're still hands-on: in the room for commissioning, debugging, and the hard calls, not managing from a distance

Compensation and Benefits
US Salary Information

$91,000 - $239,000

Tau is committed to paying competitive compensation that is fair and equitable. Your experience, qualifications, training, critical skills, and/or business considerations determine your compensation. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package that may include an annual performance bonus, equity, and other incentive compensation plans considered part of Tau's total compensation package. To learn more about our top-tier benefits, please visit www.taumotors.com. The level will depend on the candidate's experience. Our ideal candidate exhibits a can-do attitude and approaches his or her work with vigor and determination. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate excellence in their respective fields and possess the ability to learn quickly within a fast-paced environment.

Perks

• Become part of an emerging company during a rapid growth phase-within an industry undergoing dramatic transformation for a global imperative.
• Work with some of the smartest and most talented experts from different fields to: (1) attack some of the most pressing issues of today while (2) contributing to technically demanding and deeply innovative solutions.
• Growth potential-we advance team members who have an outsized impact.
• Competitive compensation based upon experience level, including stock options-we believe in capturing value in the future we create together.
• Flexible time off and paid holidays.
• Centrally located in the Bay Area on the Peninsula in vibrant downtown Redwood City
  • Blocks from the Caltrain
  • Walking distance to food and entertainment
  • Easy access to both the 101 and 280
• Excellent medical, dental, vision & life insurance
• Comprehensive benefits including 401(k), HSA and FSA benefits, commuter benefits and more